Shoot the Moon

Two games, three double pinochles (one of them natural) and Mom shot the moon!

Lazy Sunday Coffee Cake

Walk the Woods

 We went for a walk in the forest behind the house this morning.

Tucked under in a blanket of snow, it's quiet and calm. 

Who can see the trails? We just walk through the trees.

I spy three little guys. It's probably their first winter.

Something has her attention!

Ah these.  She can smell the deer.

They have been traipsing around everywhere!

I'm captivated by all the green peeking through the snow.

Mossy tree stumps.

Lichen covered trunks.

Crazy florescent signs of life.

And, of course, this face.

Foxes Get a Hound

We've been missing in action only because there's been quite a been quite a bit of action around here. I've been busy with work. Pushing out proposals, pitches and the like. Alex has been working like mad to finish our floors in the music room, guest bedroom and, now, finally our bathroom.

In between, we've been hitting up the thrift stores and estate sales.

We've also been eating English. From onion, ale and cheddar soup to ham and mushroom pies. Porters has been steering us right.

And, we've been spending time at the local animal shelter (probably 12 hours at least over three visits this weekend and last) trying to pick out the perfect new addition for our little forest home.

Yesterday, full success! We adopted Luna.

She's a beautiful six year old, pure-bred Great Pyrenees. The biggest dog in the pound, second only to a gorgeous Great Dane. After I've been making the case for a little lap dog for the last four years, we just fell in love with her big sweet face.

Soup's On

Surprise.  It's cold outside in the winter in Idaho.  The upside is that it's perfect weather for indulging in all kinds of hearty goodness.  Luckily for us, Alex's dad gifted us with a copy of Porters English Cookery Bible this past Christmas and it's chock full of recipes to warm our bones.

We figure we'll get our English on and cook through a few this week.  First up, cauliflower soup with blue cheese from right here in our back yard.

Velvety loveliness.  English cookery is treating us right so far, David.

(And thanks, mom, for that crazy powerful Swiss immersion blender!)

Happy Trails

Friday was my last day at my old job.  As I said my goodbyes, I was surprised and overwhelmed by the outpouring of good wishes and kind words.  It was lovely and called for a celebration.  So we packed our bags and headed west for the weekend.

There we gave horsey rides, played records, danced with the baby, breakfasted on biscuits and gravy, thrifted like mad, took naps, ordered in a giant feast of dim sum, stayed way up past our bedtimes and debated the relative merits of various zombie apocalypse survival strategies.  It was perfect.

Welcome to the Woods

We'll be sharing our adventures in the forest with you here, figuring it's a lot easier for most people than trekking up to our neck of the Idaho.  Here's a little sneak peek at some of the things that have been making us smile lately.

Our orchard.

The first snowflakes.

And the millions that followed.

Our brand new nephew.

New chores.

New toys.

A faux tree in the forest.

Being together out here in the woods.

Come back and visit soon!